Lua - Arrays

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Arrays are ordered arrangement of objects, which may be a one-dimensional array containing a collection of rows or a multi-dimensional array containing multiple rows and columns.

In Lua, arrays are implemented using indexing tables with integers. The size of an array is not fixed and it can grow based on our requirements, subject to memory constraints.

One-Dimensional Array

A one-dimensional array can be represented using a simple table structure and can be initialized and read using a simple for loop. An example is shown below.

Live Demo 
array = {"Lua", "Tutorial"}

for i = 0, 2 do
   print(array[i])
end

When we run the above code, we wil get the following output.

nil
Lua
Tutorial

As you can see in the above code, when we are trying to access an element in an index that is not there in the array, it returns nil. In Lua, indexing generally starts at index 1. But it is possible to create objects at index 0 and below 0 as well. Array using negative indices is shown below where we initialize the array using a for loop.

Live Demo 
array = {}

for i= -2, 2 do
   array[i] = i *2
end

for i = -2,2 do
   print(array[i])
end

When we run the above code, we will get the following output.

-4
-2
0
2
4

Multi-Dimensional Array

Multi-dimensional arrays can be implemented in two ways.

  • Array of arrays
  • Single dimensional array by manipulating indices

An example for multidimensional array of 3. 3 is shown below using array of arrays.

Live Demo 
-- Initializing the array
array = {}

for i=1,3 do
   array[i] = {}
	
   for j=1,3 do
      array[i][j] = i*j
   end
	
end

-- Accessing the array

for i=1,3 do

   for j=1,3 do
      print(array[i][j])
   end
	
end

When we run the above code, we will get the following output.

1
2
3
2
4
6
3
6
9

An example for multidimensional array is shown below using manipulating indices.

Live Demo 
-- Initializing the array

array = {}

maxRows = 3
maxColumns = 3

for row=1,maxRows do

   for col=1,maxColumns do
      array[row*maxColumns +col] = row*col
   end
	
end

-- Accessing the array

for row=1,maxRows do

   for col=1,maxColumns do
      print(array[row*maxColumns +col])
   end
	
end

When we run the above code, we will get the following output.

1
2
3
2
4
6
3
6
9

As you can see in the above example, data is stored based on indices. It is possible to place the elements in a sparse way and it is the way Lua implementation of a matrix works. Since it does not store nil values in Lua, it is possible to save lots of memory without any special technique in Lua as compared to special techniques used in other programming languages.

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